Newport Restaurant Week: Our experts pick the deals

Jan. 16, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Trio of baked oysters with La Quercia prosciutto and bearnaise from SHOR American Seafood Grill at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. The oysters are on SHOR's restaurant week menu. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Bungalow in Corona del Mar features Bungalow Salad with greens, hearts of palm and bay shrimp. The restaurant is one of 70 participating in Newport Beach Restaurant Week. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Prime Point Reyes Beer Burger with natural bacon, caramelized onion, arugula on a pretzel bun from SHOR American Seafood Grill at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. The burger is on SHOR's restaurant week menu. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The blackened wild king salmon at The Bungalow in Corona Del Mar, is set on goat cheese mashed potatoes and topped with an avocado relish. This is one entree choice during Newport Beach Restaurant Week. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Five Crowns' brick chicken is being offered during Newport Beach restaurant week. FIVE CROWNS

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Satay appetizer, chicken coconut soup, crying tiger beef and dessert are just some of the choices available for lunch and dinner at Royal Thai Cuisine on PCH in Newport Beach during Newport Beach Restaurant Week ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Satay, chicken coconut soup, crying tiger beef and a dessert are just some of the mix and match choices for lunch and dinner available during Newport Beach Restaurant Week at Royal Thai Cuisine on PCH in Newport Beach. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Royal Thai Cuisine in Newport Beach features mix and match choices for lunch and dinner such as yellow curry, Thai spring rolls, salad, and desserts during Newport Beach Restaurant Week ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Royal Thai Cuisine in Newport Beach features mix and match choices for lunch and dinner such as yellow curry, Thai spring rolls, salad, and dessert available during Newport Beach Restaurant Week ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Orange County chefs celebrate Newport Beach Restaurant Week with bubbly and a group picture at SHOR American Seafood Grill in Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. Chef owner Pascal Ohlats of Café Jardin and Brasserie Pascal, second from bottom left, toasts fellow chefs. More than 70 OC restaurants are participating in the culinary event that kicks off Jan. 18 and runs through Jan. 27. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fried Green Tomatoes, a popular southern side dish made from unripe, green tomatoes coated with cornmeal and fried has been a surprise hit at Eat Chow. The restaurant's Newport Beach outlet is one of 70 participating in Newport Beach Restaurant Week. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Trio of baked oysters with La Quercia prosciutto and bearnaise from SHOR American Seafood Grill at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. The oysters are on SHOR's restaurant week menu. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

That ratio of more than 5 to 1, he said, underscores the importance of Newport Beach Restaurant Week – a 10-day event that allows the city's "world-class restaurants" to showcase their foods at a discounted price. In its seventh year, restaurant week -- which kicks off Friday -- gives diners a chance to discover new eateries through alluring deals.

The Bungalow, for example, is offering a $30, three-course dinner that features entree options of slow-braised prime short ribs, pan-roasted chicken breast or blackened wild salmon. At any other white-tablecloth establishment, wild-caught salmon alone might run $30.

This year, a record-setting 70 restaurants are offering lunch meals at $10 to $20 per person and three-course dinners at $20 to $40 per person. That's up from 63 restaurants from last year and 60 from the inaugural 2007 event.

Peggy Fort, event spokeswoman, said it's not for lack of trying. The high-demand establishments say they don't "need" the business or can't afford to design a discounted menu that meets the event's $40 per person cap, she said.

Regardless of the no-shows, diners have plenty of meals to devour during the course of the event. To help you decide where to go, the Register's food team has scoured the menus and selected 15 places that offer too-good-to-be-true specials.

Sol Cocina: The thought of the achiote-grilled salmon makes me ravenous. It's one of the entree choices in the $30, three-course dinner. The achiote marinade gives the deep-hued fish an irresistible taste and floral scent, a profile that pairs beautifully with lime-spiked butter and apple-cucumber salsa. 251 E. Pacific Coast Highway. 949-675-9800

First Cabin Restaurant at the Balboa Bay Club: Austrian-born Executive Chef Josef Lageder uses his talents to showcase delicious seafood. The $20 lunch menu offers the brandied lobster bisque, a silky soup that requires so much time and lobster shells that I rarely prepare it at home. For the main course, there's almond-crusted rainbow trout served with Meyer lemon butter, rainbow chard and Little Gem potatoes, petite spuds with sweet starchiness. 1221 W. Coast Highway. 949-630-4145

Five Crowns: If you haven't tried chef Greg Harrison's revamped menu, I recommend you sample the $40, three-course dinner. If for no other reason, you need to dig into the crisp bricked chicken, one of the two entree choices. Harrison brines Jidori chickens for 12 hours before cooking them, then every intricate step on the heat yields flavors and textures that are superb. 3801 E. Coast Highway. 949-760-0331

Pescadou Bistro: In the mood for a cozy little French bistro? The $30, three-course will make you feel like you're in a neighborhood eatery in the outskirts of Paris. Start with the cream of mushroom soup, rich with leeks, celery and fried Porcini mushrooms. Try the duck for the main. The breast is roasted with lavender honey, and a decadent confit is made from the leg. 3325 Newport Blvd. 949-675-6990

Coliseum Grill: At this eatery poolside at The Resort at Pelican Hill, casual dining seems elegant. My choices for the $20, three-course lunch start with a vegetable soup that shows off roasted vegetables from the Irvine Ranch. And because I love salads adorned with a perfectly poached egg, the winter green salad on grilled ciabatta bread is my second-course choice. The concoction includes smoked salmon, capers and red onion. Complimentary valet parking. 22701 Pelican Hill Road South. 949-467-6800

NANCY LUNA:

Royal Thai Cuisine: Chef Sam Tila's restaurant week lunch menu was a hot ticket last year for good reason. He offers three tasty and hearty courses for $10. This year is no different. Stand-out appetizer and entree choices include spicy coconut soup with chicken, the hot sour chicken soup, fried snapper, honey duck and the Crying Tiger. The latter is a specialty dish of spicy beef medallions on a bed of fresh greens. Each entree comes with steamed white rice or pad Thai noodles and spring rolls. The third course is sticky rice made with fresh coconut taro. 4001 W. Coast Highway. 949-645-8424

Jack Shrimp: Another tempting $10 lunch. This three-course meal includes choice of deviled eggs, tuna dip or hummus for the first course. That's followed by a second course of gumbo or Caesar salad. The third course includes choice of voodoo chicken pita, BBQ pulled pork sandwich or wild salmon & avocado tacos. That seems like a steal of a meal. 2400 W. Coast Highway. 949-650-5577

Pita Jungle: Now might be the time to try the year-oldMediterranean restaurant. The $20, three-course dinner gives customers the option of any entree from its menu. Most restaurants don't leave the door wide open like this when it comes to entree choices, so I love this opportunity. With this cold snap we're experiencing, I'd go with one of the hot pitas or wood-fired pizzas. The meal also comes with a trio of hummus dips and choice of four desserts: carrot cake, baklava, turtle cheesecake or rice pudding. The modern casual restaurant is family friendly, making it a solid choice for foodie parents with young children. 1200 Bison, Suite C2. 949-706-7711.

Palm Terrace Restaurant: At Taste of Newport last year, my dining partner and I agreed their food was the best. During the event, the Island Hotel restaurant offered melt-in-your-mouth braised short ribs. The dish is an entree option for Palm's $40 dinner package. The other irresistible entree option is poached salmon on wild mushroom risotto. This makes for a tricky decision, so take a dining partner who is willing to share. 690 Newport Center Drive. 866-554-4619

Port Restaurant & Bar: Any place that offers "Breakfast Pizza" gets my attention. I'm intrigued by the $20 lunch/brunch offerings. The breakfast pizza is topped with two scrambled eggs, mushrooms, chicken-apple sausage, sliced green peppers and mozzarella cheese. Eggs aren't your thing? Other lunch entree options include a chicken breast or ground sirloin kebab. The down side? Lunch, which includes a starter and dessert, is only offered on the weekend. 440 Heliotrope Ave. 949-723-9685

BRAD A. JOHNSON:

Brasserie Pascal: It's too bad the escargot aren't included on the restaurant week prix fixe, but at least the onion soup is available. And so are the braised short ribs with Parmesan risotto. There aren't many true French bistros like this in Southern California. The restaurant is doing a dinner option of three courses for $30. 327 Newport Center Drive, 949-640-2700

Bluefin: Blue crab salad, assorted sushi and green tea tiramisu for only $20 at lunch? This is going to sell out fast and be a popular spot for this event. Even if it weren't restaurant week and I was in the mood for sushi, this place would already be tops on my list. Lunch is three courses and dinner is three courses for $40. 7952 E. Coast Highway, 949-715-7373

DivBar Smokehouse: Rock 'n' roll. Cold beer served by the jug. Barbecue beef brisket. A spectacular view of the harbor. What else could you need? The brisket is available only on the dinner menu for restaurant week, not lunch (when you'll have to settle for a sandwich, unfortunately). Lunch is $15 and dinner is $30. 2601 W. Coast Highway, 949-645-7427

Tamarind of London: The best Indian food in the world is in London, not India. And the original Tamarind in Mayfair is one of my all-time favorites. I'm going here for lunch, and I'm dragging at least three people with me so we can order one of everything and share. But mostly I'm looking forward to the butter chicken naanwich and the beef vindaloo. Lunch is three courses for $20 and dinner is three courses for $40. 7862 E. Coast Highway, 949-715-8338

Eat Chow: I'm already thinking about the fried green tomatoes and EC's roasted chicken. The banana chocolate chip bread pudding will probably put me into a coma, but I'm OK with that. It's a pretty good deal for $30 at dinner for three courses including a glass of wine or beer. Lunch is three courses for $20. 211 E. 62nd St., 949-423-7080

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